Hootsuite Authenticate an Element Instance

Last Modified on 01/07/2019 3:32 pm MST

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You can authenticate with Hootsuite to create your own instance of the Hootsuite element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the Hootsuite platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with Hootsuite and create an element instance. Because you authenticate with Hootsuite via OAuth 2.0, all you need to do is add a name for the instance. After you create the instance, you'll log in to Hootsuite to authorize Cloud Elements access to your account. For more information about authenticating an element instance, see Authenticate an Element Instance (UI).

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated element instance with a token and id.

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code

Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, Hootsuite provides the following information in the response:

code

state

Response Parameter

Description

code

The Authorization Grant Code required by Cloud Elements to retrieve the OAuth access and refresh tokens from the endpoint.

state

A customizable identifier, typically the element key (hootsuite) .

Note: If the user denies authentication and/or authorization, there will be a query string parameter called error instead of the code parameter. In this case, your application can handle the error gracefully.

Authenticating the Element Instance

Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with Hootsuite and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

Note: The endpoint returns an element instance token and id upon successful completion. Retain the token and id for all subsequent requests involving this element instance.

Parameters

The authorization grant code returned from the API provider in an OAuth 2.0 authentication workflow.

string

Namename

The name for the element instance created during authentication.

string

oauth.callback.url

The URL where you want to redirect users after they grant access. This is the API Callback URL that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.

string

oauth.api.key

The REST API Client ID from Hootsuite. This is the REST API Client ID that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.

string

oauth.api.secret

The REST API Client Secret from Hootsuite. This is the REST API Client Secret that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.

string

tags

Optional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance.

string

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{"id":12345,"name":"API Instance","createdDate":"2017-08-04T14:56:20Z","token":"ABC/Dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx","element":{"id":6791,"name":"Hootsuite","hookName":"","key":"hootsuite","description":"Add a Hootsuite instance to connect to Hootsuite account to the social Hub, allowing you to manage messages, teams , members of the organizations across multiple social elements. You will need Hootsuite account information to add an instance.","image":"elements/provider_hootsuite.png","active":false,"deleted":false,"typeOauth":false,"trialAccount":false,"resources":[],"transformationsEnabled":true,"bulkDownloadEnabled":true,"bulkUploadEnabled":true,"cloneable":true,"extendable":false,"beta":true,"authentication":{"type":"oauth2"},"extended":false,"hub":"social","protocolType":"http","parameters":[],"private":false},"elementId":4066,"tags":["Docs"],"provisionInteractions":[],"valid":true,"disabled":false,"maxCacheSize":0,"cacheTimeToLive":0,"configuration":{},"eventsEnabled":false,"traceLoggingEnabled":false,"cachingEnabled":false,"externalAuthentication":"none","user":{"id":12345}}}